Another week, another release regarding Ice Cream Sandwich by another manufacturer. This week, LG announces their first group of phones will be updated sometime in Q2 of 2012. This first batch includes the LG Optimus LTE, Prada phone by LG 3.0 (pictured above), the LG Optimus 2X, the LG Optimus Sol, the LG my Touch Q and the LG Eclipse. The LG Optimus LTE and 2X are better known in the States as the Nitro HD (on AT&T) and G2x (on T-Mobile) and with the myTouch Q, are the only phones in this first batch currently available in the US. The second batch of phones will start receiving their updates in Q3 of 2012, and includes the LG Optimus 3D (Thrill 4G on AT&T), the LG Optimus Black, the LG Optimus Big, the LG Optimus Q2 and the LG Optimus EX.

LG has had far more success in Asia than in the US, though their stable of phones has been growing among the big four US carriers. The unnamed LG skin used on their phones contributes to the development time for these updates, and it remains possible that further delay will be caused by carrier testing and validation. It'll be interesting to see which companies meet their timelines, and what impact, if any, that has on their sales performance. In the meanwhile, stay tuned for our Galaxy Nexii review.

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14 Comments

It may seem like a long time but it's in-line with the rest of the industry. I'm going to be waiting just as long for Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich on my Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY even though it was one of the first to be announced for ICS.Reply

ICS was released at least a month ago and LG isn't expected to update ANY of their phones until Q2 2012? That could be June. The rest might have to wait until September???

This is not acceptable and the prime reason my current Android, a Droid X, will be my last Android. Phone is barely a year old and I have seen nothing from Motorola to indicate it will EVER get Ice Cream Sandwich. Reply

Droid X did get two major OS upgrades, from 2.1 to 2.2, and again from 2.2 to 2.3. Not exactly poor when compared to other Android phones. Plus, the hardware in the X is extremely dated though. You might get something from the community, but Moto's locked bootloader hamstrings that.Reply

Please... Moto's bootloader is good as unlocked. I got root on my Droid 3 within 2 weeks of owning it and had a ROM with Cyanogen 4-6 weeks later. Now I have ICS on it with CM9. Mind you that it's not 100%, no camera, but everything else is working within reason. I imagine by the end of Jan beginning of Feb we'll have it 100%.

Droid X is basically ancient terms of cell phones (yr and a half I think...). Not sure why you expect to get ICS on a very dated phone. Besides that what on 2.3.7 (or whatever version you have) is out dated? None of it.

Actually....Moto's Bootloader has NOT been cracked because it's encrypted.

So you have root. The Bootloader is not what determines that.

There are ways of getting around the OS lock and loading a custom ROM......but none of those ROMS allow you to load a custom kernel which is where a lot of the base functionality remains....like overclocking or undervolting or changing out your radio. (Wireless tethering also resided there in some phones, but that may have changed...not sure)

I totally agree with tayb. My Galaxy S (first gen) will probably be my last Android phone. Samsung never bothered to update it, so I am stuck at 2.1 since I bought it. Android is becoming too defragmented, which I have long predicted and will wait to see.

You mentioned, "...Droid X is basically ancient terms of cell phones (1 yr and a half I think...). Not sure why you expect to get ICS on a very dated phone..." I disagree on two points:

(a) Take my Galaxy S for instance, I was not able to install a few prominent apps even when it was just a few months old. So, should it be considered "old" in less than a year?

(b) IMO, 1.5 - 2 years old should not be deemed ancient. That is what we are brainwashed to think, but it should not be the case. Imagine Win7 being out dated in 12 months (afterall, an unlocked smartphone easy costs more than a low to mid range desktop). The mobile industry needs to improve their support. That is the real answer.Reply

1. It is outdated because we're seeing massive performance improvements in a short period of time with phones, just as we did/do with GPUs, CPUs, HDD storage capacity, etc. On top of that older phones simply don't have storage space for the larger code as the OS grows larger as it improves.

2. "The mobile industry needs to improve their support. That is the real answer. " The mobile industry sells their products to the carrier, not the consumer. Their support of the carrier is just fine. If Americans stopped buying into the subsidized model, that might change.Reply

1. Why do you think phone companies can get away with supporting a phone that they sell six months ago because there are faster CPU now that runs on newer OS? It just does not make sense. FYI, my first generation Galaxy S has 16 GB on it - more than enough for an OS update. Come on, at least update me to Android 2.2; I can't even use Skype. It's not like I am asking them to continually update my phone. It was NEVER updated from Android 2.1.

2. This is the crux of the most recent debate. Microsoft sells WP7,the OS, to consumers while Google sells Android to carrriers, who can customize Android as they please, causing great fragmentation to a point beyond sustainable support. So you are partly accurate. And I do hold all three - Google, Samsung, and TMobile accountable for not updating my Galaxy S since its was sold. And I simply don't see how buying unsubsidized phones would entice them to update my phone OS, as we both agree that the customized Android is largely the responsibility of the carriers now.

The lack of OS update might be acceptable to you since you can afford to buy new phones every year, but that is the reason I am switching to either WP or iOS, or something else. Reply

It's a phone, not a PC. Why do you assume you'll get new features for free? That doesn't apply for your tv, your router, your watch, your car, your DVR, your dvd player, or any of your other devices... even your PC. Simply assume the logical "what you buy is what you get" and choose your phone accordingly. You're complaining that the phone you bought won't turn into another phone coming onto the market. Reply